How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary

texts?

DVD Cover Magazine Cover

Due to the problems that occurred with filming and the blue screen – we initially planned for the same actors that appeared on the magazine and DVD cover to appear in the title sequence. However, this did not happen as they had other commitments on the days we had planned to film the final version. The initial filming (using a makeshift blue screen) had the same actors plus a few more – but because the blue screen was not an even colour and contained the colour of the shirts – when editing it using Final Cut, chroma key would not only delete the blue screen but also the actor’s shirts. Therefore the actors that appear in the final version of the title sequence are not the same.

We did however, use the same costumes, fonts and the same school crest that appears on the title sequence to help link all the products together.

This shows my costume designs and the photos of the original cast wearing the costume combinations. We used the same tie in the title sequence.

Both Tracy Beaker and Sarah Jane Adventures have aspects that help the audience relate to the programme through their costume and storyline – therefore we had a generic school uniform of tie, shirt and blazer that many of the audience can relate to on a day to day basis. Also as the programme is set in a school and having a school uniform it allows the audience to make the link between the setting and the costume.

I analysed the Tracy Beaker magazine cover as it was this style that inspired us to make a similar product. I also looked at a “totally kids” magazine cover to look at what attracts our demographic. Both of these products appeal to a similar age demographic to the one we decided to aim at however they also attract to opposite demographics with regards to gender. Both of them use effective techniques to attract them such as cartoons and familiar characters. The cartoon effect of the “totally kids” magazine makes the magazine look exciting whereas, Tracy Beaker emphasises the link between the programme and the print products. Therefore, we wanted initially to make sure we had the link between all three products to show the connection as well has having exciting colours and effects that the “totally kids” magazine used.

I looked at the cover of the Tracy Beaker DVD and saw the similar features that appeared on the magazine (cartoons pictures, picture of the main character) It wasnt as busy as the magazine. Therefore for our DVD cover we kept it simple and used the same pictures as used on the magazine cover. Also keeping the title and crest the same so that the audience will be able to link the two products together. It also includes the rating symbol which appears on all DVD’s however we didn't use the DVD symbol which would also appear on all DVD’s.